J. Larry Beauchamp, 83, passed away peacefully at his San Antonio home January 8, 2014. An accomplished broadcaster, business executive, Army veteran, actor, director, computer geek, quilter, friend, husband, father, grandfather and great-grandfather, Larry left a legacy of caring, ingenuity and healthy doses of wit and sarcasm.

Born March 3, 1930, in Hillsboro, Indiana, Larry grew up an only child in Lafayette, Indiana. He excelled from a young age. He sped through first and second grade in just a year, and graduated early from high school. He earned a bachelor’s degree from Purdue University after just three years.

Following a stint in the Army, his distinguished career in broadcasting began as a play-by-play announcer for Purdue football and basketball, and ultimately lead him to positions at radio and television stations across the Midwest, including WBAA in West Lafayette, Ind.; WANE in Ft. Wayne, Ind; WJIM in Lansing, Mich.; and KFEQ and KQTV in St. Joseph, Mo.

After 25 years in broadcasting, he shifted his talents to the business world, working as an executive at Church’s Chicken national headquarters in San Antonio, before retiring in 1991. Not one to sit idly by, however, Larry went on to teach part-time at area business colleges, continued his life-long passion of acting in and directing community theatre (including Harlequin Dinner Theater at Fort Sam Houston, S.T.A.G.E. in Bulverde and Boerne Community Theatre), dove deeper into his love of computers, gadgets and technology, returned to a favorite pastime of playing bridge and became increasingly consumed by quilting, a love first spurred at his mother Bernice’s side at a young age. Larry was a member of University United Methodist Church Quilt Guild, managing the popular Quilt Market in 2007. He also served in multiple elected positions for the San Antonio Quilt Guild including several terms as president. In 2012, the San Antonio Quilt Guild honored Larry by naming its permanent collection the Beauchamp Permanent Quilt Collection.

Larry is survived by his wife of nearly 63 years, Lois Phillips Beauchamp, and seven of their children: Larry Beauchamp Jr. and his wife, Trish, of Lee’s Summit, Mo.; Lynne Luikart and her husband, Robert, of St. Joseph, Mo.; Lauri Beauchamp Kerns of Chatham, Ill.; Lee Luikart and her husband, Myron, of Chagrin Falls, Ohio; Lanny Beauchamp of Kansas City, Mo.; Lenore Beauchamp and her wife, Jennifer Wilder, of Kansas City, Mo.; and Lane Beauchamp and his husband, Dan Shelley, of New York City, NY; as well as 12 grandchildren and 15 great-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his daughter, Lissa Beauchamp.